In 1892, the Hawaiian National Liberal Party ( haw, ʻAoʻao Lāhui Hawaiʻi Lipelala), also known as the National Liberal Party of the Hawaiian Kingdom (generally known as just the "Liberal Party"), was a political party of the Kingdom of Hawaii near its end.

Ideology

Liberal nationalism

The party's

liberal nationalist Civic nationalism, also known as liberal nationalism, is a form of nationalism identified by political philosophers who believe in an inclusive form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, ind ...

program was similar to that of the European

National Liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A seri ...

parties during the 1800s. In its platform, the Hawaiian Liberal Party stated that, "We deem that all Government should be founded on the principles of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity; we hold that all me are born free and equal before the law and are endowed with

inalienable rights Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights. * Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', '' fundamental'' an ...

to life, to liberty, to property, to the pursuit of happiness..." They also expressed revisions to international treaties and aiding Native Hawaiians in acquiring farmland and homesteads.

Progressivism

The Liberal Party were economically progressive, continuing from their platform "…and to self-protection against arbitrary concentration of power, irresponsible wealth, and unfair competition." Liberals preferred

progressive tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases.Sommerfeld, Ray M., Silvia A. Madeo, Kenneth E. Anderson, Betty R. Jackson (1992), ''Concepts of Taxation'', Dryden Press: Fort Worth, TX The term ''progre ...

ation by raising taxes for organizations and the rich, while giving tax exemptions and aid to the poor. Other goals were to provide the public with economic protection and reduce the power of "

monopolies A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

trusts A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...

and privileges of special classes".

History

It was established in January 1892 as a radical offshoot of the

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

National Reform Party National Reform or National Reformation may refer to: * National Reform Association (1844), a nineteenth-century American movement to lobby Congress to pass land reforms *National Reform Association (1864), a nineteenth-century American movement to ...

. Its first president was John Edward Bush and its vice president was Joseph K. Nawahi. After an October special election in 1892, the party ousted Bush and elected Nawahi president and John K. Prendergast his vice president. Nawahi was considered more level-headed than Bush and Nawahi prompted Liberals to work with the National Reformers to break the impasse in the three-way split of the legislature.

''The Liberal''

The Liberal Party had their own newsletter named ''The Liberal''.

International Rifle Association

The Liberal Party also had their own gun club, the International Rifle Association, similar to a political

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

References

Sources

Political parties established in 1892 1892 establishments in Hawaii National liberal parties Defunct political parties in Oceania {{US-party-stub